Scientists discover proof darkish matter and neutrinos might work together, difficult customary mannequin of the universe | News

Scientists are a step nearer to fixing one of many universe’s largest mysteries as new analysis finds proof that two of its least understood parts could also be interacting, providing a uncommon window into the darkest recesses of the cosmos.

Scientists are a step nearer to fixing one of many universe’s largest mysteries as new analysis finds proof that two of its least understood parts could also be interacting, providing a uncommon window into the darkest recesses of the cosmos.

The University of Sheffield findings relate to the connection between darkish matter, the mysterious, invisible substance that makes up round 85% of the matter within the universe, and neutrinos, one of the vital basic and elusive subatomic particles. Scientists have overwhelming oblique proof for the existence of darkish matter, whereas neutrinos, although invisible and with an especially small mass, have been noticed utilizing large underground detectors.

The Standard Model of Cosmology (Lambda-CDM), with its origins in Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, posits that darkish matter and neutrinos exist independently and don’t work together with each other.

New University of Sheffield analysis published in the Nature Astronomy journal casts doubt on this concept, difficult the long-standing cosmological mannequin. The analysis detects indicators that these elusive cosmic parts might work together, providing a uncommon glimpse into components of the universe we are able to’t see or simply detect.

By combining information from completely different eras, scientists have discovered proof of interactions between darkish matter and neutrinos that would have affected the way in which cosmic constructions, resembling galaxies, fashioned over time.

The information spans the historical past of the universe:

• Data relating to the early universe comes from two foremost sources: the extremely delicate ground-based Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), and the Planck Telescope, an area observatory operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) from 2009 to 2013. Both devices had been particularly designed to review the faint afterglow of the Big Bang.
• Late-universe information comes from a large catalogue of astronomical observations taken by the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco Telescope in Chile, together with galaxy maps from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Co-author of the examine Dr Eleonora Di Valentino, a Senior Research Fellow on the University of Sheffield, mentioned: “The better we understand dark matter, the more insight we gain into how the Universe evolves and how its different components are connected.

“Our results address a long-standing puzzle in cosmology. Measurements of the early Universe predict that cosmic structures should have grown more strongly over time than what we observe today.

“However, observations of the modern Universe indicate that matter is slightly less clumped than expected, pointing to a mild mismatch between early- and late-time measurements.

“This tension does not mean the standard cosmological model is wrong, but it may suggest that it is incomplete.

“Our study shows that interactions between dark matter and neutrinos could help explain this difference, offering new insight into how structure formed in the Universe.”

The findings set a clear path for further testing of the theory using more precise data from future telescopes, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments and weak lensing surveys, which use the subtle distortions of light from distant galaxies to map the distribution of mass throughout the universe.

Dr William Giarè, co-author of the study and former Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Sheffield, now based at the University of Hawaiʻi, said: “If this interaction between dark matter and neutrinos is confirmed, it would be a fundamental breakthrough. 

“It would not only shed new light on a persistent mismatch between different cosmological probes, but also provide particle physicists with a concrete direction, indicating which properties to look for in laboratory experiments to help finally unmask the true nature of dark matter.”

View the paper in full